4 January 2000

Dribbles and faucets on the Lae`apuki bench

A weak dribble of lava over the sea cliff above the west
end of the bench has been fairly persistent for the past
two weeks. The lava comes from active surface pahoehoe above
the cliff. Most of the lava entering the ocean does not take
this route, however. Instead, it flows in shallow tubes over
the cliff to the bench below. Once on the bench, the lava
can either flow along the surface or, most often, continue
in tubes that feed the pahoehoe covering most of the bench
surface. During the past two days, the bench pahoehoe has
been inflating noticeably as the input from the tubes exceeds
the output into the sea. This morning, breakouts from cracks
in the surface of the inflating flow were prominent near the
front of the bench. Most lava entering the ocean is coming
from the inflating flow.

13 January 2000

Lava covers Royal Gardens private access road

Early on January 13 pahoehoe flows spread across the private access
road leading to the Royal Gardens subdivision. The flow field is slowly
expanding in this area as the lava advances toward the ocean (about
1 km beyond photograph toward lower right).

Smoke flow moves slowly through forest

A narrow flow, called the "east arm of the Smoke flow,"
continues to move slowly down Pulama pali. The flow is moving through
a large forested kipuka, and the burning vegetation often generates
thick clouds of smoke visible for many kilometers. This view is
from near the Royal Gardens private access road (see above).

Lae`apuki bench still active

Lava continues to pour into the sea from the Lae`apuki bench
but at a lesser rate than in early January. This aerial view of the bench
shows only a very weak plume of steam rising from the western edge of the
bench. In mid-December, lava spilled into the ocean briefly at Highcastle.

Map of lava flows near ocean, 17 January 2000

Large
map. Map shows lava flows (bright yellow) on Pulama pali
and coastal plain active since early December. Lava reached
the ocean at Highcastle (west of Lae`apuki) on December 13 and
at the Lae`apuki bench December 17-18; Highcastle is no longer
active. The eastern part of the active flow field reached the
Royal Gardens private access road (blue dashed line) on January
13. The Smoke flow is the flow that bends eastward toward the
private road. Its east arm is the narrow three-fingered yellow
flow. The west flow feeds the Lae`apuki bench.

Eruption-viewing opportunities change constantly, so those readers planning
a visit to the volcano should contact Hawai`i
Volcanoes National Park for the most current eruption information (tel.
808-985-6000).

The URL of this page is http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/multimedia/archive/2000/Jan/
Contact:
hvowebmaster@usgs.govUpdated: 6 June 2000 (SRB and DAS)